Core did her best to fend off the criticism, but she ultimately failed win the endorsement of the event organizer, the Alliance for Good Government.

Challengers Vince Accardo, Alfred "Trey" Blossman III, Abita Springs Mayor Louis Fitzmorris and Jimmy Renfroe alluded to and decried the nearly $35,000 in tax money Core's 50-employee office has spent on meals between 2008 and April 2011. Those dollars were among more than $253,400 in credit card spending since 2008, the bulk of which has been on work supplies.

The four challengers all guaranteed they would either eliminate widespread credit card use or at least implement procedures that would make it much more difficult to pay for purchases with public funds if voters selected them to lead the office.

It was also suggested that Core at one point had not done enough to ensure exemptions granted to undeveloped land were legitimate, allowing some property owners to evade fair taxation for a time.

Accardo accused Core of turning her post into "the lunch brigade" and argued there was a need to reintroduce honesty and integrity to the agency.

"That's me," said the Abita Springs businessman, who if elected has promised to manage his office similarly to the way the Chehardy family did for many years in Jefferson Parish.

Blossman, a veteran certified general real estate appraiser who is also the great grandson of former St. Tammany Parish Assessor Richard Samson Blossman, insinuated that Core's struggles are due to her being a career politician who has grown complacent since winning her first election to the seat in 1991.

Blossman assured he would only hire field agents that were better skilled and trained than Core's, and he vowed to serve no more than two terms as assessor if chosen.

"I ... (will) move on," Blossman said.

Fitzmorris, who pocketed the Alliance's endorsement, likened being assessor to being an elected administrator, who is asked to work with a budget of about $4.2 million.

Fitzmorris said his three terms as mayor of Abita Springs show he can balance a budget of that size, and his "unblemished" tenure means he is not susceptible to issues such as questionable spending.

"There needs to be a change," he added. "I'm the only viable challenger to Ms. Core for this race. I have a proven record."

Renfroe blamed problems in the assessor's office on poor management. He highlighted his success in that area by referencing his job as a manager at the Tulane-HCA hospital in downtown New Orleans, which he has held for 17 years.

"Working with budgets, (I) can be thrifty but efficient," said Renfroe, who has lived in St. Tammany since 1994.

A fifth challenger, Gretchen Cowart, did not attend the gathering, held at the parish government complex on Koop Drive north of Mandeville.

Core justified her agency's credit card spending as she has in the past. She purchased much of the food for her staff as a reward for voluntarily working thousands of hours of unpaid overtime during reassessment and review periods, which auditors have never objected to, she argued.

She also pointed out that she spent more money -- namely, $37,500 -- on education for her subordinates, including airfare and hotel stays for seminars and conferences, than on meals.

In other races featured at the forum, the Alliance endorsed incumbent Clerk of Court Malise Prieto, parish coroner's challenger Dr. Beatrice Desper and parish president candidate Patricia "Pat" Brister..